Cilley Declares For Governor

Former Barrington state Sen. Jackie Cilley stressed her blue collar roots has she kicked off her campaign at the Manchester YWCA. Cilley recalled growing up in a tenement and taking a job at the Waubec mill before heading to college and going on to teach at UNH’s Whittemore School of Business. Cilley said she believes in compromise, but said she won’t stand for what she called attacks on education, workers, women and gays being made by “The Free State/Tea Party/John Birch politicians in Concord.” Cilley also she won’t be taking a pledge to veto a sales or income tax.

“Pledge politics isn’t leadership. In fact, if you take enough of them you don’t have to think about anything at all. You know, it makes the job really easy, ok. Our citizens deserve an opportunity to have a discussion they want on any issue that they want.”

Cilley joins former Senator Maggie Hassan of Exeter in the race for the Demcoratic nomination. On the Republican side, conservative activists Ovide Lamontagne and Kevin Smith are already in the running.